Saturday, March 22, 2008

America World Staff! Our Heroes!

Meet BeBe! When asked what his title was for America World, he replied with "I don't really have a title, I just do what needs to be done". Well, after our week with BeBe, we chose to give him the title of "THE MAN!" I don't remember if he added it or someone else, "The Man With The Plan"! He has a heart of gold and makes sure that if there is something that you need or want, you have it! If he hears you say something like, "Oh we need to get some formula today", the next thing you know, we are parked outside of a supermarket and he is saying, let's go! He goes out of his way to make sure that your time in Ethiopia is amazing! We had a blast with BeBe and can't say enough about him! Of course, Mark found out that he loves to surf so he invited him to visit FL to come surfing and to go to Disney World!! He has never been to the states! Oh, just so you know, one interesting fact about BeBe is he is a gymnast! Not just a gymnast but he is one of the best in Addis! He helps his brother teach gymnastics in his down time!! This sort of blew me away because he looks and acts WAY TO COOL to be a gymnast! Meet Girmachew! Talk about a workhorse! This man is amazing! He has been dubbed "Superman" and he definately wears this well! He is in charge of getting all of our paperwork to the courts, securing court appointments, attending the hearings as our POA and then while in country, helps families with the paperwork to secure the children's Visas and Passports. We did not see him very much while we were there but knew that he was busily working to help all the families in different stages of their process. We caught up with him on Saturday afternoon before heading up to the room to pack and he was paying for our hotel rooms. He is a very humble man and we appreciate all he does! One interesting fact about Girmachew is that he is a US Citizen! Meet Barrett and Rachel! They are newlweds and just moved to Addis Ababa this past January! Rachel works for America World and is currently running the Transition Home alongside of the nurse, Fortuna. She will be implementing new systems to help things run more smoothly. Barrett (I can't remember who he works for or what he does at this very moment) is a wonderful help to his wife and supports her 100% in her efforts! He's also a pretty funny guy! He kept us laughing and helped keep things calm in times of stress! One good thing to know about Rachel & Barrett is that they are both huge fans of Hummus and will eat it at each meal if the restaraunt has it! They also appreciate if you let them take your leftovers home to eat if you go out to dinner with them! They live at the Transition Home and say that the children get up all hours of the night and wake really early and are ready to play! They are very happy to have ear plugs!!! They are such a sweet couple and are open to any and all suggestions that families feel may help make things run smoother for all involved. BeBe, Girmachew, Rachel & Barrett were wonderful to be with on our trip! They made sure that we had everything we needed and were so laid back about the schedule, etc. It made things so nice! We were in great hands!